The federal government has issued directives targeted at phasing out the sale and consumption of alcohol in sachets and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles, The Cable reports. Mojisola Adeyeye, director-general of the National Agency for Foods and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), disclosed this in a statement. Adeyeye said uncontrolled access and availability of high concentration alcohol in sachet and small volume PET or glass bottles contribute to substance and alcohol abuse in Nigeria. She added that NAFDAC and the ministry of health have engaged major shareholders and have reached certain agreements. She said the food agency will no longer register…
Author: meridianspy
Health workers, under the umbrella of Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU), have resolved to embark on a nationwide strike. In a statement on Sunday, JOHESU directed its members to withdraw their services from midnight of Sunday, September 13, citing, among other issues, non-payment of hazard allowance and withheld salaries as reasons for their decision. The decision was unanimously reached at the end of an expanded National Executive Council meeting of leaders of various health unions, after achieving nothing at their interface with the Federal Government. “In the light of the above, the meeting of our expanded NEC was held Saturday…
Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) has said state governments ignored its earlier warnings on impending flood disaster in the country. Clement Nze, NIHSA Director-General, stated this during an interview on Channels TV’s Sunrise Daily programme. Nze said the agency had earlier issued the warning of heavy downpour and consequent flooding expected in the country but the state governments did not prepare by taking proactive and preventive measures. “We cannot go to the states to pull down structures which the state governments had given permits to be built at wrong locations,” he said. “My agency sent out an alarm in April that…
Ayuba Wabba, President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), has said the labour union will soon declare its position on the recent increase in fuel price and electricity tariff by the Federal Government. Wabba made this known while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Saturday, in reaction to the increases in the prices of such essential commodities. He said the organised labour would not protest until the Central Working Committee (CWC) met and agreed on appropriate action. “Labour takes one battle at a time; it does not make announcement without backing its action.” The labour…
Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), a pan-northern socio-political group, has said its membership was not by force. Emmanuel Yawe, ACF’s National Publicity Secretary, stated this in an interview with The Punch in Abuja on Thursday. Yawe’s statements was in reaction to the decision by some leaders of the North-Central region who pulled out of the ACF to form its own group known as the North-Central Peoples Forum (NCPF). The leaders cited, among other concerns, issues of security threats in the region as reasons for the formation of the new forum. Yawe, according to The Punch, said the ACF was not worried about…
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that electorates without face masks will not be allowed to vote at the upcoming governorship election in Edo and Ondo states. Mahmood Yakubu, INEC Chairman, made the announcement at the Presidential Task Force (PTF) briefing on COVID-19 in Abuja on Thursday. Yakubu explained that the decision became necessary given the rising spread of the disease. He, however, said medical face masks was not compulsory but any sort of material able to shiled the nose and mouth. Other measures adopted to prevent the spread of the pandemic at polls include physical distancing of…
Lagos State Government has disclosed that only final year students of tertiary institutions will be allowed to resume in the state. Recall Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the state Governor announced the reopening of schools in the state on Monday September 14, after months of closure due to the outbreak of the dreaded coronavirus disease. But Tokunbo Wahab, Special Adviser to the Governor on education, who spoke on a programme on Channels TV, explained that the final year students were older and more mature to adhere to COVID-19 preventive guidelines, hence the decision. “For our tertiary institutions, from on the 14th, we are…
The UK High Court has ordered Process and Industrial Developments (P&ID) to make an interim payment of more than £1.5 million to Nigeria. The payment is meant to cover the legal cost Nigeria incurred as part of its successful application for the extension of time to challenge the arbitration award and procedural hearing earlier in the year. Sir Ross Cranston, a judge of the High Court of Justice, who issued the order on Thursday, said the payment is to be made within 21 days. More details soon.
Katsina State Government has rewarded three youths in the state for their show of bravery in overpowering some bandits who had kidnapped them at their farm. The youths which comprised two boys and a girl were said to have disarmed and killed one of the bandits in their attempt to free themselves from captivity. At the presentation of a monetary reward issued to the youths on behalf of the state government on Tuesday, Sanusi Buba, the state Commissioner of Police, appreciated them not only for their display of courage in engaging the bandits but also for returning the AK 47…
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has given its own reasons why Captain Idahosa Wells Okunbo is against the reelection of Godwin Obaseki, the Edo State Governor, in the upcoming September 19 gubernatorial election in the state. In an interview widely reported on Monday, Captain Okunbo had accused the Governor of poor performance in his first term in office as well as fighting imaginary enemies. But in an exclusive chat with Vanguard, PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, said the governor’s resolve to be his own man and make Edo State the pride of the people brought him on a collision…
Terry Waya, father to Kiddwaya, housemate in the Season 5 Big Brother Naija lockdown reality TV show, has said if his son emerges winner, he will ensure he gives half of the prize money is given to Erica, his co-housemate who was recently disqualified from the competition, and the other half to charity. Waya made this disclosure during an Instagram live interview with Dele Momodu, CEO Ovation Magazine, on Tuesday night. The billionaire businessman expressed his unhappiness over the exit of Erica who had shared intimacy with Kiddwaya, from the house following her disqualification for gross misconduct, while also appreciating…
The Federal Government is no more going to be releasing guiding price bands for the sale of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, at filling stations, the Punch reports. It disclosed this in Abuja through the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, adding that based on this, the downstream arm of the oil and gas sector had been fully deregulated. Responding to questions from journalists during a briefing at the headquarters of PPPRA, the agency’s Executive Secretary, Abdulkadir Saidu, stated that going forward, PMS price would be determined by the forces of demand and supply and the international cost of crude…